Fall of the Half-Bloods
by SwugMark
Summary: Camp Half-Blood still exists five years after Blood of Olympus. The new era brings us new heroes, new adventures, and even a new enemy. Will the demigods be able to stop the rising evil? Find out in this exciting continuation of Heroes of Olympus which features appearances from some of your favorite Heroes of Olympus characters as well as many new ones.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

_5 years after Blood of Olympus_

Kala Williams strolled along the endless road, as she had the night before, and the night before, and every night since her father left; so basically forever. A man who claimed to be her father was next to her, as he had been the night before, and the night before and- well, you get the picture. He had silver hair and a tiny beard growing. He was in a dark purple cloak that looked like it hadn't been washed in ages. He had a kind face but there was something about his eyes that made you worry. Kala had never met her father in person, only in dreams. That's how it worked for most demigods. He was saying something, and it was only then that she realized she wasn't paying attention.

"Kala, are you listening?"

"Nope, not really. You're kind of _a dream_." Her dad sighed.

"Kala, I can't explain it to you now, but someday you shall realize who I am."

"My 'dad' who only shows up in dreams? Listen, sir, I appreciate you haunting my dreams for the past fifteen years, but it's not like you're really my dad."

Then the ground shook. A lightning bolt shot across the sky, followed by monstrous thunder. Kala looked at the man standing next to her, as if he were the source of the storm.

"I must leave." The man ran off, and Kala awoke with a start.

"You fell asleep again." Her band instructor was staring at Kala.

"I'm really sorry." Early morning band practices were Kala's nightmare- she could never stay awake so early in the morning, especially today; Kala had been studying all night for her language arts and math tests that both happened to be on the same day. The tests were about forty percent of her grade.

"Measure thirty three." Her band instructor raised her arms as a sign for everyone to raise their instruments. Kala raised her flute to her lips and began to play. Every once in a while she would misplay; good thing some of the louder flutes covered up her mishaps!

Hitting the high notes with ease, Kala glanced at her friend Amy with a _you ready? _look. Amy responded with a short nod and together (after a measure of rest) they played a duet. Kala misplayed a few notes, but Amy's insane trumpet skills blocked it all out. Amy played so amazingly that Kala's mistakes weren't noticed by the strict instructor, Ms. Kro

After seven measures of Amy and Kala playing alone, the rest of the band joined in and finished the song with only a few mistakes- but then again it was Monday morning, so no one except for Amy could play perfectly. Amy was a musical master, and her long, dirty-blonde hair had such a natural beauty about it; her face was gorgeous too. Aside from her physical appearance, she was the greatest best friend in the world. Amy would listen when you wanted to talk, but silence herself when you just needed the quiet. Amy was a shoulder to cry on, but also had the will to pick you up when you've fallen. Amy would laugh even when the joke wasn't funny, and stand by your side even when you didn't ask for it. Amy was the best friend everyone wants, and luck for Kala, Amy _was _her best friend.

Ms. Kro dismissed them and the students gathered their things and headed out the door to their first period classes.

"Nice job Amy." Kala said.

"Oh thanks, you too." Amy stuffed her umbrella into her backpack.

"Uh, you do know it's the middle of winter, right? What do you need an umbrella for?"

"You never know." Amy giggled uneasily, then they took the right turn that they took everyday to get to first period. Walking through the classroom door, Kala noticed the only kid in the room Rick, who was early to every class. Rick was the guy nobody could hate, even though he wasn't that popular. There was always a smile on his face, and he could cheer up anyone in a bad mood. He had brown hair and hazel eyes, and his peach-colored was dotted was with freckles. Kala took her seat with Amy next to her and Rick behind her. As other kids joined the class, some making it just after the bell rang, Mr. Robins entered and sat at his computer to take attendance. Rick seized his chance to impress the girls.

"So guys, wanna see a magic trick?"

"Sure Mr. Abracadabra." Amy replied.

"Yeah Rick, show us your 'magic' trick." Kala continued.

"You're gonna like this one!"

"Get on with it, Hokus Pokus!" added Anthony from behind Amy.

"Have you been listening the whole time?" Anthony smirked at Amy. Once again, the girls rolled their eyes. Anthony was probably the most popular out of their group, but he didn't like hanging out with the popular kids. He thought most of them were shallow, which they were, and he had tried to avoid his popularity for as long as Kala had known him, but he seemed to be naturally cool. His skin was a cocoa brown and his hair was black, and it had some imperfect perfection about it. This was Kala's usual squad. They'd been together since elementary, and they were still great friends in their freshman year of high school. Mr. Robins yelled for the class' attention before Rick could reveal his trick.

"Class! Today we will be starting on our unit on ancient Greece." Mr. Robins eyes darted to Kala and then he quickly looked away.

"I hope you all enjoyed Ancient Egypt, but I want you to pay extra close attention to this unit." Again Mr. Robins glanced at Kala- what was his deal today?

"First we shall learn of the beast known as the Griffin." A kid in the back of class raised his hand.

"Yes?" Mr. Robins pointed him.

"Well, the griffins aren't in the textbook. The first chapter is actually on-"

"The information is essential and I would like you to know the information." Mr Robins' tone showed the class that the argument was over.

"The griffin has the head of an eagle and the body of a lion. It even has wings on its back like a pegasus. It is a wise creature full of pride and honor, so it is usually used as symbols and emblems for knights and warriors. Although it is a very famous mythical creature, it is not referred to directly in myths. We do know that they pulled Apollo's chariot."

"Sir, who is Apple-what?" Kala asked.

"May I explain?" Amy added. Mr Robins nodded and winked at Amy.

"The Ancient Greeks believed in Greek gods, and twelve of them were the major rulers of Greece and Olympus."

"Of course there are lots of other minor gods too, even if they aren't as recognized." Anthony added.

"Anyway, Apollo was one of the twelve major gods. He was the god of prophecy and oracles, healing, plague and disease, music, song and poetry, and archery. He's also the god of the sun, give or take, but that's a little complicated."

"Alright, I would like you all to read page thirty four through forty five. Tomorrow we can discuss the myths involving Apollo. Alright, so you have the next," Mr. Robins glanced at the clock "twenty minutes to start reading."

After reading the assigned pages, there were a few minutes left in class so Kala passed some notes with Amy, Anthony, and Rick. After a minute of that, the class ended and the bell rang. The rest of the class ran out of there class.

When they spotted a teacher they started walking to there next class.

Heading to ninth period, Kala thought she heard her friends around the corner. She was about to stop by and say hey, but she heard her name and decided to stop and listen.

"Rick, that was too close. If she saw your magic, she would totally suspect something." It was Amy. Rick spoke next.

"Sorry, I just wanted to show her a little something awesome, but she would have thought it was a trick. And stop getting mad at me! You're the one with your umbrella weapon in the winter! Maybe you could come up with a better disguise than an umbrella."

"We don't have enough time for a change. It took long enough replicating Riptide's magic and figuring out how to turn weapons into everyday items. But on a more serious note," Amy paused and began to whisper "did we find the griffin?" Kala looked around the corner. She saw Anthony shaking his head.

"Mr. Robins has narrowed it down to either Ms. Kro, the band teacher, or Mr. Weldon, the language arts teacher." Anthony then added "and this morning I spied on Kro. Turning invisible does come in handy. I didn't find anything interesting." The three looked at each other and nodded.

"Let's get to class." They headed in different directions and Kala ran off to her class. It wasn't that she wanted to be late, it was the fact that her friends thought monsters were real and that they could become invisible. What was happening that she didn't know about?


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

She couldn't help but feel uneasy in Mr. Weldon's classes for the next few weeks. Ms. Kro was just as bad. She avoided her friends as often as possible. She didn't trust any of them anymore, or Mr. Robins for that matter. Of course she still had an A in his class; he had made sure she studied hard in the Ancient Greek unit. What was his deal? To add on to her list of troubles, her dreams about her imaginary dad had stopped showing himself. Of course she enjoyed it, but she couldn't help feeling that it was wrong.

She wondered the path alone now. The voices in her ear told her they were coming for her, but her fathers voice overpowered them all.

"The monsters are coming. You can fight them off, but not alone. Trust your friends, and they will protect you. You need to understand." He was only a voice now, with no human form.

She tuned out to the rest of what he was saying. Something about trust and danger.

"Wake up, Kala." Her mom, Tara Williams, stood next to her bed wearing an apron over sweatpants and a t-shirt and holding a spatula.

"Alright, alright." Kala regretfully got up from her bed. She trudged toward the kitchen where a stack of pancakes was waiting.

"Kala, I'm not going to be home tonight because of parent teacher conferences. There's cereal in the pantry and milk in the fridge, but call me if you need anything else."

"Got it, mom." After devouring her pancakes, Kala got dressed and packed her books.

"Hey mom?"

"Yes?"

"Do we have any pictures of dad?" Her mom stared at the floor and Kala knew she shouldn't have asked.

"Come with me." Kala's mother added reluctantly. Her mom went into her bedroom and brought out a small wooden chest.

"In here." Kala slowly opened the chest and pulled out the first delicate photo carefully. Kala could only manage to mutter two words under her breath.

"It's him." She had never seen her dad in her life. Never in person. Yet he had been haunting her dreams. Forever.

"Now get to school, Kala." Her mom added, as if nothing had happened.

"Bye Mom."

"Bye." Kala headed out the door and to the bus stop. She couldn't believe it. Somehow her dad was in her dreams. She had never seen him. Never heard him. Never met him.

"Kala?" It was Amy. Kala chose her next words carefully.

"What are you doing here?" She said with a hint of anger in her voice.

"My mom got a promotion yesterday so she has to get to work earlier now. She can't drive me so I decided to just take the bus." They were both out of things to say to each other.

"Kala, you've been avoiding us."

"Who's us?"

"Me, Anthony, and Rick. What's the deal?" Kala sighed. Amy would have to find out at some point.

"I heard you."

"What do you mean?"

"Is Anthony here? Is he invisible?"

"What are you-"

"Never mind, let's talk about Rick. What kind of magic can he do?"

"Kala, I don't-"

"Understand? Neither do I. But tell me, is the griffin Weldon or Kro?" Suddenly it was like a life or death staring contest. The loud bus engine broke the silence. They got in the bus. Although Kala would have preferred to sit alone, Amy sat next to her.

"What are you so mad about?"

"My three best friends are psychopaths!" Amy turned away from Kala.

Remembering her that her mom wasn't home, Kala flipped through the pages of her world history textbook. She continued reading the assigned pages Mr. Robins had given them today. So far, they had learned about the twelve Olympian gods and read a few myths about them. Mr. Robins said that there were far more Ancient Greek gods, although they were considered minor gods, to learn about. She was supposed to read about Thanatos and Hecate. She was on the last page when she finally heard a knock on the door. Her mom must be home.

When she pulled open the door, Kala did not see the warm face and long, curly, dirty blonde hair of her mother. It was Amy. "Amy what are you doing here?" Amy did not answer.

Amy walked into the house without a word.

Kala slapped Amy straight in the nose. Kala didn't want Amy to really get hurt, but then again she wanted to knock some sense into her and it felt good to let out her anger. Amy didn't look as if she felt any pain.

"Amy?" Amy headed to the kitchen.

"Amy?" Amy open the silverware drawer and picked up the largest knife in the droor. Then Amy looked at Kala. Kala took a step back.

"Amy, what are you-" the knife flew straight toward her head. In a quick move of panic, Kala dodged the knife and it stuck in the wall. Did Amy just really just throw a knife at her?

"Amy, stop!" Amy smiled a pulled two identical kitchen knives out of the droor and held them up, showing she was ready for a fight. Even though they were only kitchen knives, Kala, after the knife throw, had no doubt that Amy was a deadly assassin with any weapon.

She ran. Amy tried to follow, but Kala slammed her bedroom door just in time. She heard the metal blades scraping against the wooden door. Kala pulled her phone out of her pocket. She dialed 911.

"This is 911 what is your emergency?"

"There's a girl trying to kill me!"

"Give us the address and we will arrive immediately!"

"The address is-" the phone was stabbed by a knife flying at Kala. The phone fell out of Kala's hand and cracked, the screen's shards cutting Kala's hand. Amy had sliced a hole in the door. She raised her second knife over Kala.

"Please Amy! Don't do this!" Amy smiled and brought the knife down. But Kala felt no pain. She felt no blade. She looked up to find Amy dueling Anthony.

Anthony was using a celestial bronze sword like he had been practicing all his life. Even though Amy's weapon was small, she fended him off without breaking a sweat. Then Anthony disappeared.

"Anthony?" Kala realized she shouldn't have spoken. Amy now had all of her attention on Kala.

"Enjoy Tartarus." An unseen force pushed Amy out the window. After an explosion of glass, Kala looked through the window and wondered what would happen to Amy. This was on the second floor of the house, and Amy was headed straight for the sidewalk. It wouldn't be surprising if Amy died.

"AMY!" Kala screamed. Inches away from the ground, Amy was saved by a griffin. An actual griffin. It was real. Kala was sure that she was hallucinating. The griffin held her by the shirt with its talons then Amy hopped on its back. It all happened within seconds. Anthony reappeared out of thin air right next to her. Kala fainted.


	3. Chapter 3

**I am so sorry about the gibberish chapters. I have no idea how that happened. I hope your'e enjoying this fanfic!**

**-SwugMark**

_**Chapter 3**_

_Now you know. The myths are true. _Her father wasn't even a voice anymore. He was like a thought that only she could hear, although there was no sound at all.

_My daughter, you saw my photograph. You know that I am your father. The griffin, as well as anything you've ever known about Greek "mythology" is real. The gods. The titans. The monsters. The giants. The good. The bad. But there is more to the tale than the myths you have studied. Let me tell you a story about a boy named Percy Jackson._

When he had finished the story, which Kala thought was so long it could have taken up five whole books, he began another story.

_Let me tell you about the heroes of Olympus. _When the tale drew to a close, Kala thought again that the story could take up five whole books, but the books would be bigger than the Percy Jackson books.

_You are like them. A demigod. Your mother is mortal, but I am a god. I am Morpheus, god of dreams. You are a hero. So are your friends. Anthony, Amy, and Rick are all demigods. They were sent to protect you._

Speaking partially to herself, she wondered

"Yeah, Amy did a great job of protecting me. Next time, my bodyguard friends should all be psycho assassins who ride griffins. They could all come over and try to kill me!"

_Kala, remember that Tyler Robins is always on your side. He may be a lot older than most satyrs, but he is loyal to the end. Now awaken, Kala Williams._

"She's alive!" It was Anthony. Her mom stood next to him. Blood dropped out of the cuts in her hand from the phone shards.

"Mom, you'll never believe it! You married a god! And all the myths are true and" she pointed to Anthony "Anthony is a demigod! So are Rick and Amy! And Amy tried to kill me but then Anthony comes out of nowhere but she escaped on a griffin and Dad had been talking to me in my dreams!"

"Anthony told me everything. I've been having the dreams every now and then, where Dad speaks to us."

"So who's your godly parent, Anyhony?"

"Thanatos, a minor god of peaceful death. His Roman counterpart is Letus, I think. He's also got wings, which is pretty legit if you ask me. He can even turn invisible, which is where I get my power from. Speaking of which, I was invisible and protecting you when your mom left for conferences. Your welcome."

"Thanks." Kala felt even worse for Anthony when she saw a trickle of blood go down a cut that Kala hadn't noticed before. It must have been from Amy.

"Oh, and not to brag, but my dad guards the Doors of Death."

"We know who the griffin is." Kala's mother chimed, changing the subject.

"Who?" Questioned Kala.

"Ms. Kro. She wasn't at parent-teacher conferences but Mr. Weldon was. Kro must have had to leave to pick up the assassin who tried to kill you." Anthony spoke next.

"Kala, now that you know about the gods and what not, we'd hope you'd join Amy, Rick, Robins and me." Kala didn't know what to say.

"My father said to find Robins. Dad said he can answer my questions. Where is he?"

"Rick and Robins are in pursuit of the griffin. We can't find Amy anywhere." Kala nodded, although her theory was that Amy had betrayed them.

"The assassin might not have been Amy. It could have been a disguise." Kala's mom added. Kala nodded, although she knew she had probably sparked Amy's sudden evilness a few days over. Of course Mr. Robins taught them how wise and strong the griffin could be, and perhaps it could have persuaded Amy.

"Our rendezvous point is only a few miles west of here. And by a few, I mean a lot. We're heading to New York. We should be there by tommorrow." Anthony told Kala.

"How? We live In California!"

"Shadow travel. We have a Hades kid coming to pick us up in fifteen minutes."

"Remind me again why we have to go to New York?"

"Long Island, to be exact."

"And why?"

"In Long Island, New York is the only place that's safe for people like us. The only place where we can live without having to look over our shoulders." Anthony paused, and Kala looked as if she already understood. They were going to the place where Percy Jackson himself was trained. It was that place that the Romans and Greeks united under the Athena Parthenos.

They were going to Camp Half Blood.

When their shadow traveling escort arrived, there was one more demigod than expected. One of the kids was armed with a sword of Stygian iron at his belt. He wore a black t shirt and over it a black leather jacket. His hair was black. He wore black jeans. He wore a skull ring. He was definitely the Hades demigod, and he looked like an adult. He introduced himself.

"Nico Di Angelo." They shook hands. His hands were ice cold. The other demigod stepped up to greet Kala. Right beside him was a girl Who looked about the same age as Nico. It surprised Kala that two demigods that were adults or nearly adults stayed at Camp Half-Blood.

"Wasn't expecting you, Reyna." Anthony told Annabeth.

"Neither was I. Nico had his zombie chauffeur drive him to Camp Jupiter. He told me he needed extra strength to get from New York to here in California."

"What?" Kala thought...she'd ask later.

"A lot of work just to pick up Kala." Anthony said, challenging the older demigods.

"There were rumors of demigods that betrayed the camps. Following the example of Octavian, I guess." Reyna shuddered at the idea of Octavion.

"Can we get a recap?"Asked Nico, changing the subject. Kala and Anthony told the story while Kala's mom sat and tried to think of details to add, but she wasn't home for much of the action.

"Oh." Nico said after hearing the story.

"You guys need to come back to camp before you continue your mission of hunting the griffin and the other monsters in California. Kala needs training and you need rest." Reyna looked sincerely at Kala. But still there was still something that bugged her. Anthony broke her train of thought.

"Has everything gone as planned with Rick, Amy, and Tyler?" Kala had to remind herself that Tyler was Mr. Robins.

"We have a team that was sent to bring Rick and Tyler back to camp. As for Amy, well, no signs of her yet." Reyna looked like there was nothing else to be said. _Great. _Kala thought. _My best friend/ physco killer is missing I'm being chased by a griffin and now I have to leave my mom and I have to go to some Greek camp. _Of course Kala's dad had told her about all of this, but it still shocked her that it was real. Anthony and Nico shared an uneasy stare. Her dad had explained how Percy's mother couldn't get through the barrier, and she had been killed by a Minotaur. What if the same thing happened to Kala?

"What about my mother?" Nico had an immediate response.

"We have a neighborhood of New Rome that was recently added for parents whose children are away in either camp. They are well protected and have others to relate to there. Most people enjoy New Rome." Nico said it as though he's said it one million times. Kala's mother smiled at her.

"Good, so my mom will be safe?" Nico nodded.

"Indeed. Any other issues?" Silence.

"Alright, everyone connect to me in some way. We're heading to Camp Half Blood." The group of young demigods disappeared and Kala's mom,Tara Williams, was left alone, awaiting the people that would bring her to New Rome. Instead of people, she got a huge, mechanical, golden dragon with a recorded message saying that it was sent to bring her to New Rome. The message was from a centaur named Chiron. She hopped on the dragon's back and they flew off. Tara had never been good with heights.


	4. Chapter 4

**So sorry about the weird gibberish chapters. I hope you are enjoying my fanfic!**

**-SwugMark **

_**Chapter 4**_

_Where am I? _Anthony rubbed his eyes and cleared his vision. He felt a little sick from shadow traveling. Nico made it look easy.

He looked around. He was in the shadow of a huge silver bean. There were skyscrapers on the horizon. This was not must have been the city of Chicago. Anthony could see tourists all around him, taking pictures of the bean and selfies with their friends. Which reminded him of his own friends.

Where were Kala, Nico, and Reyna? He needed to find them. He could take a plane to New York, where he could then get a message to the camp in no time, and he would be picked up by a Pegasus which would take him to Half-Blood hill. If only he had a cell phone, he could search the internet for nearby airports. But demigods never carried cell phones. It made getting caught by monsters too easy. He walked around the city for about an hour looking for an airport. Giving up, he sat on a bench near the Willis Tower. A phone conversation a few feet away from him got his attention. He turned invisible, so no one would think he was a stalker or something, and went to listen to the conversation.

"Yes, Mom, I leave today. At noon I leave on flight thirty three." The girl looked about fifteen and appeared to be in an argument. Muffled words came out of the phone .

"Yeah, Chicago Midway National Airport. Yeah, at noon tomorrow." Anthony headed back to his bench. He just needed to get to Chicago Midway National Airport. He wanted to take a cab, but he didn't have any money except for drachmas. He would have to walk. He also needed to follow the girl, but without seeming like a total creep. He asked a middle aged man where the airport was. He wrote down the directions on a scratch piece of paper from his pocket. He thanked the kind man and hurried off toward the airport. Since the flight didn't leave until tommorrow, Anthony enjoyed a sleepless night on a bench near the airport. Chicago wasn't really known for being the quietest city in the world.

As soon as Anthony was out of sight, the teenage girl headed walked a few blocks away to a restaurant with a bathroom. The bathroom had a water fountain. Perfect. She could easily make a rainbow here. She cupped some water in her hands and stepped outside into the sun. In her hands, a small rainbow appeared in the water.

She dropped a drachma into her quickly made rainbow

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Sam Stevens." An image of her friend Sam appeared in the small amount of water. She made her message quick.

"The son of Thanatos is headed toward the airport. Be ready to intercept. He can't be allowed to reach Camp Half-Blood." Sam nodded.

The rainbow then disappeared and the teenage girl whistled for her griffin to come and pick her up.

Finally the hours had passed. Anthony had to board the plane invisibly since he couldn't pay for a ticket. He was full of joy and relief when he saw an open seat. He ended up sitting next to a guy who looked only sixteen years old. Anthony examined him. His eyes seemed to be a calm shade of blue, and his t-shirt said "rainbows r manly". He had black hair that definitely had been gelled. His feature seemed cunning in a way. What surprised Anthony most was when he started talking to him.

"Sam." Anthony thought he was talking to himself at first, but the guy was speaking to _Anthony._

"The name is Sam. Sam Stevens, son of Iris. You know, goddess of the rainbow and what-not." The plane took off. "Anthony Remon, you can speak. I know you're here. My friend Amy told me all about you and your powers. Invisibility, eh? Sounds useful.

"You can give me your sword and become visible. Unless you want everyone on this plane to die." Sam opened a small luggage bag he had brought on the flight. It was filled with Greek fire bombs. Anthony revealed himself and handed Sam his sword.

"So Amy has turned against us. She told you about my powers."

"Do you often state the obvious out loud?"

"What do you want?"

"Well, that is a very abstract question. There are many things I want." Anthony gritted his teeth. Note to self: not a fan of Sam Stevens.

"What do you want _with me."_

"Well, if you succumb to me then you live, the people on this plane live, and I don't have to escape this plane riding a griffin. I can't let you reach your camp." Before Anthony could respond, he saw the tennage girl who had been arguing on the phone in the sky out his window. She was riding the griffin. It was a set-up. They were both staring straight at him.

"Your choice entirely." Sam smirked slightly. His eyes changed color to a bright, springtime green. It would've looked happy if hadn't been in Sam's eyes. Anthony scowled at Sam.

"You win." Almost as if taunting Anthony, his eyes changed color at rapid speeds. Blues, reds, yellows, blacks, golds, purples, and colors Anthony couldn't name. It was like a Crayola sixty four thousand pack of eye colors. His eyes stopped at a blood red.

"Sorry about this." Anthony was handcuffed with cuffs that seemed to tighten as he writhed his wrists. An enchantment. Was the Mist keeping the mortals from witnessing this kidnapping?

"Follow my lead." Sam pulled two dagger length steel batons out of his suitcase. How did weapons and bombs get past security?

"How did you-"

"You have so much to learn. I have a frirend who can, as you see, alter the Mist." Suddenly the passengers of the plane gasped and started yelling for the pilot. From the view of the Mist, this probably looked like Sam had just pulled weapons from his small luggage bag.

Sam crashed a baton against a window and the glass shattered. People screamed. He pushed Anthony out the window, then hopped out beside him. As Anthony got a last glimpse of the inside of the plane, he saw one of the timers on the Greek fire bombs counting down. It had somehow been triggered. In one minute and forty seven seconds, everyone on this plane would die.

Anthony had to save them somehow. He and Sam were falling straight for the griffin. In a stupid, improvised decision, Anthony landed on the griffin, jumped off of it, and was in yet another free fall. Dying didn't matter. His dad was a minor god of peaceful death. What mattered was getting all those people on the plane to safety, and he couldn't do that in a free fall.

Anthony heard a sharp pain in his back. It was like a knife cutting him open, only at the same time Anthony felt amazing, powerful, and indestructible. Anthony manages to look behind him. No blood, that's always good. The griffin was in pursuit. It's two riders drew their weapons: Sam with his steel batons, the girl with a recently sharpened katana. Those weren't the normal weapons for demigods, but then again, these two teenagers might not even _be _demigods. Anthony felt the pain again. It happened three times, and each time it was worse. After one final blast of searing pain, Anthony wasn't falling. He was flying. He looked behind him.

He had wings.

Dark, black, angel wings just like the wings of Thanatos. After staring in awe for what seemed like an hour but was really a second, he came into a realization.

The wings were just like those of his father.

Trying to take control of the huge feathery wings, he tried to dash toward the plane but instead knocked a surprised Sam Stevens right off his griffin. The creature screeched and flew down to save him, but the girl still stared in awe at Anthony's newest flight gear.

Finally getting some control over his wings, Anthony flew towards the plane and looked through the broken window. There were three seconds left.

Two. Anthony grabbed the bomb and began to pull it out through the window.

One. Anthony chucked the bomb as hard as he could away from the plane.

Zero. The bomb went off in midair in an explosion of Greek fire. The explosion just missed the plane but it burnt Anthony's clothes a little. The passengers on the plane started clapping. Unsure of what they had seen through the Mist, Anthony smiled, waved, and took his seat in the plane. He felt a surge of relief when he realized Sam was no longer sitting next to him. Nobody was. A flight attendant began heading down the aisle staring straight at Anthony. What if she knew he had sneaked on the plane? She opened her mouth and began to speak.

"Thank you for saving us all. The pilot says to see him when you leave the plane."She shook his hand and walked away. If the pilot wanted to reward him, Anthony wouldn't take it. That was just how being a demigod hero was. The window was still broken, but at their first stop they were supposed to call someone who could fix it. People thanked him throughout the flight for saving their lives, but eventually Anthony found himself drifting to sleep.

He was awoken when the pilot announced that they would be landing in New York City. Anthony had no luggage, so it might look a bit awkward when he left the plane without any money, clothes, or food, but Anthony could come up with an excuse for that. Once the plane landed, he remembered what the flight attendant had told him and he walked toward the cockpit. The pilot smiled, somehow knowing that Anthony had saved the plane. Perhaps he'd seen a video, or the flight attendants had described him. Either way, the pilot held out his hand. Anthony shook it.

"So boy, the word is you saved the plane."

"Well, I guess so, sir."

"They say the young man next to you had a suitcase full of bombs and one was accidentally triggered. The passengers said that none of them were aware one of them was counting down, and until you threw it out of the plane, they thought they were safe. Apparently the young man sitting next to you also had batons made of steel and he broke the window. He cuffed you and pulled you out with him. Did he survive?"

"Yes sir. There was a, uh, small jet was waiting for him." _Seems like a logical excuse for the griffin_ Anthony thought.

"I wonder how he got past our security."

"As do I, Mr., um..."

"Thomas. Bill Thomas. You got a name?" Could Anthony reveal his real name to this man? Could he trust him?

"Jeff Andrews."

"Alright then. Thank you so much, Jeff. I can't believe you held a grip on the window frame then swung back in to get rid of the bomb. Now tell me, how did _you _get past our security?" Anthony felt his heart race. How could the Frank Thomas know?

"How could a fourteen year old boy with no luggage get on a plane without a passport?" Anthony realized he didn't have his passport with him.

"And was it coincidence that you were next to the terrorist?" Anthony furtively searched the plane with his eyes to look for another exit, besides the one the pilot was guarding.

"And to add to your criminal record, there is no registered 'Jeff Andrews' on this flight." Two police officers entered the plane. Anthony had one choice: invisibility. The cops and the pilot seemed to think he had run off, and they sprinted out the plane to chase him. Sometimes, the Mist was Anthony's favorite thing in the world. He had to move quickly. He became visible, unleashed his wings and soared into the sky, searching for Camp Half-Blood.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

Rick trudged through the slimy, shallow rivers of the swamp. He felt like he could die from all the mosquito bites he'd gotten, but he tried to keep his complaining to a minimum. Tyler Robins was his guardian satyr for this quest, and Rick didn't want to bug him with his whining. Still, they had been searching for the Griffin's den for a week and had found nothing.

Chiron had somehow gained information that the Griffin's den was here, and he wanted Rick and Mr. Robins to find and kill the beast. Rick was beginning to worry about how long the quest would take, and how much food and water they had.

"Mr. Robins, how much food do we have left?"

"Two days worth. We've been out here for a week, and we still haven't reached the den." Rick decided to stay silent after that. He didn't want to annoy Mr. Robins. But Rick couldn't help wondering if they had brought any bug spray…

"Mr. Robins?"

"Rick, we've known each other for some time now, and I don't have to pretend to be a teacher. Call me Tyler."

"Yeah. So Mr. Ro- I mean, do we have any bug spray?" If Tyler wanted Rick to call him Tyler, then he would try to. After all, Tyler was right. They'd known each other for a while. It just felt weird to call someone as old as he was by their first name.

"I think I have some. Pretty good packing for a seventy-five year old man, huh?" Mr. Robins didn't take offense to people joking about his old age; he often did it himself. Rick laughed, then took the bug spray. While he sprayed himself, he noticed Mr. Robins' kind, smiling face become cold and serious.

"What is it?" Rick whispered.

"Over there." Mr. Robins pointed at a leaning, mossy tree a few feet from them. Rick noticed movement there as well. Mr. Robins unsheathed his sword. Rick retrieved his staff, which was tied to his back, and found a approached the bush cautiously.

Something jumped from the bush and straight at Rick. It was a teenage boy. The impact disarmed Rick and caught him off guard. The boy held two jagged knives and was attempting to stab Rick. As Rick struggled to push the boy off of him, Mr. Robins whacked the boy's head with the flat end of his sword. The boy fell off of Rick and hit the ground. As Rick stood up, he examined the boys features. He looked about fifteen, maybe sixteen. He obviously worked out a lot, and his dirty blonde hair was a mess. He was drenched in sweat and obviously hadn't showered in days.

"Rick, are you okay?" Mr. Robins ignored the boy and headed to Rick to check for injuries. He never saw the boy stand up and rush at him with his knives. Before the knives pierced Mr. Robins, Rick pushed him away with all his might. The knives were too close to Rick. In the split second before the knives came close enough for a kill, the Griffin swooped in and saved Rick. A monster. Saved Rick. It picked up the boy by the shirt with its talons and flew off. Rick went to see if Mr. Robins was alright.

"Rick." Mr. Robins muttered weakly.

"Robins?"

"I am done."

"What do you mean 'done'?" Rick knew what he meant already, but he wished he didn't.

"I am old, and my time is up."

"But he didn't stab you! I saved you!" Rick didn't know whether to be furious or sorrowful.

"I'm sorry. When you," he was speaking so quietly Rick could barely hear, "pushed me, it was too much for someone as old as me."

"You mean I killed you?" Rick's eyes became an ocean of tears.

"No. It was," Mr. Robins put his hand on Rick's shoulder, "it was too much too see you die."

"You mean… when the boy almost killed me… you couldn't…"

"Heart attack," Mr. Robins muttered, "I think. I can't be sure. Heart attacks are even worse for someone my age. Goodbye."

"Mr. Robins!"

"Goodbye Rick…" That couldn't be it. He couldn't be dead. He couldn't have died. He couldn't have.

"MR. ROBINS!" Rick yelled through tears.

"I told you to call me…", Mr. Robins spoke weakly, like he was already dead, "Tyler."

And with that, Tyler passed into the world of the dead.

"Tyler." Rick whimpered.

"Joseph, what were you thinking!" Sam yelled.

"I'm sorry." Joseph replied.

"You were supposed to kill the satyr, not the Hecate demigod!"

"The satyr did die!"

"But you tried to kill the demigod, you fool!"

"Geez, the satyr is dead. I didn't kill the demigod, so what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is," Sam stated, "I need the Hecate demigod to live. Nothing like that can ever happen again."

"Sam, with all do respect, why is the child of Hecate so important to you?" It was not Joseph, but the girl sitting next to him, who spoke. The three of them were sitting on the Griffin as it flew away from the swamp.

"Because, Amber," that was the girl's name, "his powers are limitless. if he destroy everything and everyone he cares about, then he may break. Once he is broken, he will join us."

And with that Joseph, Amber, and Sam Stevens rode the Griffin back to their headquarters as Rick sobbed over Tyler's death.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

Rick had never been so bored in his life. Picking strawberries might seem relaxing or calming to the Demeter kids, but it was nothing but plain old boredom to Rick. He was used to magic. He loved tricks, illusions, mysteries, excitement, and strawberries were none of those things. Rick just wanted to take his mind off of Amy's betrayal and the fact that Anthony hadn't shown up. And Tyler Robins. Most of all Tyler Robins.

Finally, Rick spotted Anthony flying overhead. Wait, flying? Anthony had huge, black angel wings just like Thanatos. When Anthony landed, Rick embraced him in a forceful hug.

"Whoa dude!" Anthony said. Rick let go and shook Anthony's hand.

"I'm so glad you're back. What happened?"Rick asked.

"Shadow travel error. Weird stuff, dude." Anthony told Rick the story and Rick hung on to every word.

"Holy Hephaestus! There's something not right about that. Dude, Tyler and I were given the location of the Griffin's den, but it turned out to be a wild goose chase. Nothing there, but it took a while to reach the empty cave." Rick didn't want to tell Anthony about Tyler, or about the teenage boy who had tried to kill him or about the Griffin saving his life. Before they continued the conversation, Chiron approached and Anthony gave Rick the _see ya later I'm gonna get used to camp again _look, which is a complicated a look, but Rick got the message. Anthony needed to relax.

Rick loved Camp Half-Blood. The people, the scenery, and the magic and mystery of it all. Of course, magic was kind of his specialty. As a son of Hecate, Rick was skilled at magic tricks and even a had few actual magic powers and items. Rick looked at his pocket watch which he kept for hypnotizing; he could only hypnotize things like mice, bugs, or other small animals, but it was his only gift from his mother. Realizing he had gotten lost in thought, Rick checked the pocket watch's time: almost ten thirty pm! Rick headed to the Hecate cabin (almost all minor gods had cabins now) and walked inside to find some of the kids asleep, while a few were still awake and practicing magic spells and illusions. Rick fell right to sleep, exhausted from training all day.

When Rick awoke, he found out he had slept in. He ate breakfast at ten a.m.

"Hey Rick, I saw Anthony! He finally showed up!" It was Kala, who had gotten here with Nico and Annabeth a few days ago, but Anthony had somehow gotten lost in the shadow travel experience. Luckily, he showed up yesterday; apparently, word had gotten out about Anthony's adventure. Kala's long, dark hair was curled and she was wearing just a little makeup over her perfectly tanned skin.

"He told me you could tell me what happened. He said he was too tired."

"Let's just say he had a rough day." Kala searched Rick's face for a clue on what had happened, but Rick could hide his emotions with ease.

"Rick, I know I'm a demigod now. You don't need to keep secrets."

Rick told Kala the story Anthony had told him, and she had the same reaction than Rick had anticipated.

"That's terrible! There's some freaks- I mean, demigods or monsters and stuff- that are terrorizing ordinary people?"

"And it sounds like Amy is with them." Kala nodded and looked at a bandaged cut on her hand. Rick knew Kala had expected Amy to be confirmed evil since the whole murder attempt, but the Mist was powerful and could be manipulated. Rick had kept up hope that it was the Mist hiding someone else, but the fact that Sam, who claimed Amy told him, knew about Anthony's invisibility changed Rick's opinion.

"On the bright side, a son of Iris doesn't seem like he'd have powers or abilities that would cause extreme destruction. Unless the rainbow is, like, poisonous." Rick laughed at himself while Kala rolled her eyes. After talking for a while, Rick discovered that Kala now knew Chiron and Mr D, and even a few of the other demigods.

"Except for he has access to Greek fire." Someone had sunk up behind Rick and Kala. It was Skye, daughter of Demeter. She wore her curved celestial bronze curved sword on her waist as well as her usual outfit choices. Her cocoa brown hair in a ponytail hung over her shoulder, and she wore her Camp Half-Blood t-shirt with her light blue North face sweatshirt; her belt held up a pair of ripped jeans, and she was barefoot.

"Hey, Skye." Rick smiled, and she smiled back. Kala looked between them, feeling left out.

"Sorry, I don't think we've met." Kala stated awkwardly. Skye laughed and smiled at Kala.

"I'm Skye, daughter of Demeter. You know, goddess of the harvest and such. I've known Rick, Anthony, and Amy for a time." Skye's grin broke and she stared at her feet.

"I can't believe she turned against us." Rick remembered how Skye and Amy were inseparable at camp. Hopefully, nothing would get weird between Amy's best friend from school and best friend from camp. Unfortunately, Rick usually couldn't predict the behavior of women.

"I didn't even know anyone _was_ against us. There were the titans and Gaea, but they were dealt with. I expected a few monsters to try to kill us every so often, but nothing like what Anthony fought." Rick nodded. So word had gotten around about Anthony.

"I'm sure Chiron has a plan." Rick said to comfort the girls, but the words died in his mouth. He had to admit, evil demigods were tough opponents and always led to other things. Worse things.

"And by the way, I'm Kala. Daughter of Morpheus, God of dreams."

"Hey, you three." It was Anthony, but his new wings were gone.

"Anthony, your wings?" Rick asked, then realized that he had set himself up for something.

"Gee, I wonder where they went?" Anthony replied sarcastically, the continued.

"Wait a sec," Anthony's wings popped out of his back. "Boo ya!" Rick clapped slowly, then all four of them laughed. It was good to have Anthony back at camp. How would Rick break the news about Robins to his friends.

"All demigods, report to the woods for Capture the Flag!" Chiron yelled, using his new bullhorn that the Hephaestus kids had made him. That bullhorn could a make anyone's voice louder than a lion roar. It had mini speakers inside it and everything.

As the friends headed to the woods, a thought struck Rick.

"Kala, you've never played capture the flag, have you?" Kala shook her head no, and she looked worried.

As they headed to the field, Anthony explained the rules to Kala. Once Kala was confident enough to play, the friends told Chiron that Kala needed a team. Since one member of the red team had broken his leg a week ago and he was still in the hospital, the red team got Kala. Anthony was on the red team, so at least she had a friend. Skye and Rick were members of the blue team. Rick quickly realized what he had forgotten: a weapon. He could see Kala had forgotten a weapon as well, and she was eyeing Skye's curved blade and Anthony's celestial bronze sword. Before Chiron began the game, Rick shouted,

"Chiron, could you give Kala and I ten minutes in the armory! I forgot my weapon and Kala doesn't have one yet!" Chiron nodded and continued explaining the rules to the other campers.

Kala started asking questions about how dangerous capture the flag was, and Rick laughed nervously. _She better not die._ Rick thought. After Robins, they'd have enough death.

When they reached the armory, Rick saw on his pocket watch that they only had six minutes to grab their weapons and armor and then get back to the woods.

"Kala, choose quickly and carefully. No pressure, but this might be the weapon you use forever."

Rick picked up his staff which was next to some crossbows. He found his grip and practiced a few moves while Kala looked around. She ended up picking two identical short daggers, mostly because she thought they looked awesome. They ran back to camp, making it back just as their ten minutes expired. The two teams were ordered to separate, and Rick found Skye and Kala found Anthony. Rick and Skye went to receive orders from the blue team's captain, Ryan Smith. He was a son of Athena. He was a sophomore, about sixteen years old with dirty blonde hair and gray stormy eyes. He wore his usual set of silver, shining armor over his toned abs. He was basically the perfect guy on the outside, but Rick knew that Ryan used to not want a whole lot of attention. Ryan had become more confident in his many years at camp, and he was a selfless lead-by-example kind of guy. Plus he was a genius, but that kind of came with the whole son of Athena package.

Skye and Rick, as well as four other demigods, were sent on a stealth assault to find and retrieve the flag without making a commotion. The rest of the team was on defense. They hid their flag near water. When a camper asked about Percy's healing near water, Ryan had to remind everyone that Percy and Annabeth had moved to New Rome after they'd gotten married. The oldest demigod left was Nico, and he stayed to defend the camp and to find and recruit demigods. He'd gotten his shadow traveling under control and could travel long distances without fading away. Reyna was here simply because Nico had needed some help, but the two of them were heading back to California tomorrow to look for Sam Stevens and his Griffin. Neither Nico nor Reyna were participating in today's game of capture the flag.

The game begun, and Skye led Rick and the four demigods through the forest.

Kala and Anthony were on defense, along with ten of the strongest and smartest warriors on the red team. Their team leader, Paul Jones, was a son of Ares. He thought it would be best to launch a full frontal assault, but he still left a decent defense in awe of an attack. The flag was hidden in between two large trees, but it was hard to see because of the bushes covering the flag. Paul, the team leader, seemed like he knew what he was doing, although he was a bit reckless. He seemed to be a shoot-first-ask-questions-later kind of guy, but of course, being a son of Ares, he was an excellent warrior. He had black hair and brown eyes, and he was strong and tough. Maybe a little stubborn.

As Skye led the small attack team, Rick heard footsteps to the west. A lot of footsteps. Maybe the whole red team.

Skye and the others looked in the direction of the footsteps as well. Rick ducked behind some bushes, and Skye did the same. One of the four demigods they were leading climbed up a tree and kept watch, while the other three hid behind trees. Minutes passed, and the small team of blue demigods were unnoticed. When all sound had ceased, Skye yelled toward the guy who climbed up the tree.

"Hey Hal, what'd you see?"

"Looks like the entire red team is attacking our defense. I didn't see Anthony, though. They probably have a small defense." Hal answered. Apparently the demigod in the trees was named Hal. Rick was bad with names.

"So we can easily capture their flag. If we find it." One of the other blue demigods answered. _What's his name, what's his name... _Rick was almost mad at himself for not remembering. _It starts with an E... Evan! _Rick was relieved that he could remember at least one person's name.

One of the other blue team demigods, Teresa, stepped up to speak.

"And how do we find the flag?" Teresa looked to Skye. Although she was no daughter of Athena, Skye usually had some kind of plan.

"Anthony might be flying around, guarding the flag. But he might also be invisible." Hal pointed out.

"So how do we find the flag?" The only demigod who hadn't spoken was finally participating in the conversation. _His name is... _Rick thought _Gary? No. Greg? No. Grant! Yes! _The demigods exchanged uneasy glances. Skye's eyes lit up. She headed over to the place where the red team had been marching just a few minutes ago. After examining the footprints in the dirt, Skye finally spoke.

"Let's find out where these tracks came from."

As Anthony flew above her, Kala tried to spark a conversation with the other red team defenders she was stuck with. Most conversations went something like this:

"Hey." Kala would say.

"Hey."

"How long have you been at camp?"

"A while. You?"

"I'm new."

"Cool." Then there would be awkward silence and Kala would walk away. Just as Kala grew bored, one of her fellow demigods unsheathed his longsword and stood ready for attack.

"I saw someone out there. Be prepared." The battle ready demigod said. As the group unsheathed their weapons, one of the demigods said what they were all thinking.

"How did they find us." The demigod who had first unsheathed his sword replied.

"The tracks from our soldiers. They probably followed them back to our flag." The demigods formed a perimeter around their flag, ready for anything.

Skye analyzed the situation. _Four sons of Ares, a daughter of Morpheus, a son of Hermes, and three Apollo kids. And of course, Anthony is around here somewhere. Invisible._

Skye looked at her troops on the other side of the flag. She gave a signal and the blue team executed their plan with precision.

Skye focused on the life beneath one of the soldier's feet. Being a daughter do Demeter, Skye could sense plants and, to some extent, control them. She finally found what she was looking for: a tree root.

Anthony , flying invisible from above, saw a root spring out of the ground beneath a red team soldier. The root wrapped around his foot so he was unable to escape. Then, another root sprouted from the ground and knocked his weapon out of his hand the root the. Grappled onto the demigod's body and threw him to the ground, knocking him unconscious.

As Skye made the first move, Rick conjured up his own tricks. Rick took his pocket watch out of his pocket and made a sudden leap at the nearest soldier. He swung his watch back and forth slowly, the other soldiers too distracted trying to fight the tree roots attacking them. Rick began his spell.

_For the next ten seconds, you are under my control_

_I am in command of your mind and soul_

_When I snap my fingers three times in a row_

_You will attack the red team soldiers. Now hurry up and go!_

Satisfied with his spell, especially because it rhymed, Rick snapped three times and retreated back into the bushes. The red team soldier began swinging his spear at the other red team demigods, knocking some of them unconscious.

Kala didn't know what to do. She had no special powers when she wasn't dreaming. She was already cut loose from her roots, but she was being attacked by one of her team members. Her own team member was attacking her!

She tried to defend herself with her daggers, but she lacked training and enough skill to fight him off. He knocked her to ground with the butt of his spear and everything went black.

It would have been better if everything stayed black. The vision that awaited Kala was far worse than anything she could have imagined.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

She saw fire. Something was burning. Something big. There were monsters everywhere, destroying temples and sanctuaries. The burning place definitely looked Greek, and there were demigods riding monsters. Kala stood up, realizing she could move. This must be a dream. No, a vision.

Kala examined the rubble, careful not to let the monsters see her. She snuk around, trying to rub ash from the ruins on herself to hide her demigod scent. She hoped the monsters couldn't smell her. Their were burnt skeletons and corpses everywhere. Only a few deas bodies wore armor, and only some had weapons lying next to them. Most of the dead bodies had missing limbs. Eaten by the monstrs? Kala tried not to think about it. The people had obviously been unprepared for an attack from these monsters. The sight of the dead bodies made Kala want to puke.

As Kala closer examined the bodies, she couldn't help noticing that some were wearing burnt, orange t-shirts. Kala could see that they had words on them. One t-shirt wasn't burnt too badly and it was still readable. She walked to the body stealthily and brushed the ash off of the shirt, reading the letters with dread.

Camp Half-Blood.

Kala took a step away from the skeleton, gasping. This was camp. Burnt and destroyed. The whole camp. Dead.

Kala was awoken with a start. She was in the infirmary, with Rick, Skye, and Anthony standing over her.

"She's awake!" Rick announced. Kala stared at her friends, not sure of what to say. Should she tell them about her dream-vision?

"Are you okay, Kala?" Anthony asked. "You look afraid." Kala knew her dream was no ordinary dream. It was important. It might be the only way to save paths camp from being destroyed.

"I'm fine." Kala jumped out of bed, and then went to find Chiron. If she was going to tell anyone first, it should be him. After searching for half an hour, Kala decided to ask Nico if he had seen the centaur.

"Nico, have you seen Chiron?"

"Chiron is..." Nico hesitated "away. He is not, uh, currently available. What do you have to say?"

"Listen, Nico." After hearing her father's story of the seven demigods who defeated Gaea, Kala trusted Nico. He was a true hero, even if he wasn't recognized as much as the seven for it.

"Listen, I've had a dream. Or a vision. I don't really know." Kala lowered her voice. "The camp, Nico, it was burning. There were monsters and demigods riding them. There were bodies everywhere." Kala felt tears coming on, and it took all her willpower to hold them back.

"You are a daughter of Morpheus. No dream is random, especially for you. Morpheus has the ability to control dreams, as well as send dreams to mortals. This may be a message from Morpheus." Kala came upon a terrible realization.

"Nico, is what I saw the future? Is there no possible way to save the camp?" Nico looked as if he was about to cry. Camp Half-Blood was his only home.

"I know who is gonna attack us." Anthony had sunk up from behind them, using invisibility to be stealthy.

"Sam Stevens, son of Iris. He's got Amy and one other girl on his side, but that's all I know of. He probably has more demigods. The only monster in his possession that I know of is the Griffin, but he's probably got more monsters too."

He definitely had more monsters.

A roar was heard from a distance, and it didn't sound friendly. Kala heard screams and cries of pain, all of them desperate for help. Kala and Anthony exchanged looks, and then looked to Nico. Since Chiron wasn't here, he was pretty much in charge. Nico thought for a second, then spoke.

"Get all demigods to the defenses. If the monster has gotten past Peleus the dragon, then we need everyone defending the camp. I want the camp surrounded with demigods ready to fight." Anthony nodded and flew off to give Nico's orders to everyone, while Kala ran towards the sound of screaming.


	8. Chapter 8

p id="docs-internal-guid-bff5b218-e29e-4771-72d0-43e8be74ef4e" dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"Chapter 8/span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"The monster was like a big, gray, lion-wolf type thing. Its tail was like a scorpion and its teeth were sharp as swords.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""It's a manticore." Said Ryan, as if reading her thoughts. Ryan was a son of Athena and he was captain of the blue team. He was running to defend the camp as well. There were only two demigods still fighting the manticore, the rest were dead or too injured to fight. Kala hoped they were only injured. Dead campers were never good.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Now there were four demigods against the monster, and there were more coming. Ryan poked at the beast with his spear, and the manticore became annoyed and slightly hurt. The manticore started to get overwhelmed, but the demigods continued to fight with all of their willpower. Of course, nothing ever went as planned when you're a demigod.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Kala heard a dragon roar, and for a moment she was afraid there was a dragon attacking. She reminded herself that Peleus guarded the camp, and he was probably coming to help the demigods defeat the manticore. spanspan style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"At least there isn't a dragon attacking camp./spanspan style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;" Kala thought. But something else was about to attack the camp. Something far worse than a dragon./span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"A Nemean Lion was battling Peleus. Skye firmly held her curved sword, looking ready for combat. On the outside, she was a brave warrior who could overcome any obstacle and defeat any enemy. On the inside, she was scared out of her wits and wanted to cry in fear. The Nemean Lion had killed someone she cared for. Someone she cared for a lot. span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"She summoned some roots from the ground and in an attempt to tie the Lion's feet to the ground, but the beast tore her roots to pieces without breaking a sweat. He let out a roar of anger. He seemed offended that a demigod had even tried to attack him. span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Skye and Peleus were alone against this monster. Most of the demigods had gone to take down the manticore, and the others were defending other parts of camp. The demigods had assumed Peleus could handle himself.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"The Lion jumped at the dragon, but Peleus managed to dodge to the side. Peleus then let out a burst of flame, and the fire engulfed the Lion.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Once the flames died down, the Lion wasn't burnt or injured. It wasn't hurt. Not a scratch. Skye had almost forgotten.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"The Nemean Lion's fur was impenetrable. There was no way for Skye to kill it. The lion, more angry than before, scratched at Peleus. The dragon received a severe scar across his face and he fell to the ground; the Lion fixed its gaze on Skye. He snorted and charged like a bull. Skye forced all of her will into lifting a row of trees from the ground. The trees acted as a barrier, but for only a second did they protect her. span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"The Nemean Lion busted through the row of trees and roared. Hopefully someone would hear the roars and come to help her. Until then, Skye was alone.span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"The monster scratched at her and tried to crush her with its paws. Skye leaped to the side as his paws came down in an attempt to kill her. Although she knew it would have no effect on the savage beast, she stabbed at his fingers with her blade. The curved sword bounced off of the Lion's skin and Skye never saw the other paw coming. The claws of her enemy scratched across her body, leaving a bleeding claw mark. Skye cried out in pain. Her entire body was bleeding and she dropped her sword. She didn't have half the strength required to lift some plants to protect her. The pain was unbearable, and she wished the Lion had killed her quickly. span/p  
>p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Her vision blurred. She thought she saw some demigod soldiers begin to attack the Lion, but it didn't matter to Skye. The Lion had killed her father, and now it had killed her too.span/p 


End file.
